I've been plodding along with Tony's 'Ashborn' inspired banjo the last couple of weeks, I spent a long time chewing over how I could make the flange strong enough. In the end I went for a 2-layer block constructed Maple flange, sandwiched in between a 2-ply steam bent Maple rim. I also inlaid a nice looking strip around the flange, making it pretty robust even if it's not historically correct!I've also glued up Dave's Walnut neck blank and the gigantic long neck Maple blank for Les, these will be ready to work on after Christmas. The next few weeks I'll be working on both Tony's and Richard's banjos simultaneously, both banjos have challenges ahead but it's all good fun :)